Every Living Thing

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PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • An extraordinary account of scientific rivalry and obsession in the quest to survey life on Earth. This engaging and thought-provoking narrative focuses on the theatrical politics and troubling science that shape our understanding of life. WINNER OF THE PEN/E.O. WILSON LITERARY SCIENCE WRITING AWARD • A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR. In the eighteenth century, two contemporaries—Carl Linnaeus, a pious Swedish doctor, and Georges-Louis de Buffon, an aristocratic French polymath—dedicated their lives to identifying all life on Earth. Linnaeus believed in tidy, static categories, while Buffon saw life as a dynamic swirl of complexities. Both men underestimated the vastness of biodiversity, yet their contrasting views on nature and humanity emerged through their efforts. Linnaeus introduced concepts like mammal and Homo sapiens but denied species change and promoted racist pseudoscience. In contrast, Buffon laid the groundwork for evolution and genetics, warned of climate change, and opposed prejudice. Their conflicting worldviews continued to influence biology long after their deaths, as successors vied for dominance in the field. Jason Roberts weaves a sweeping narrative exploring the intertwined lives and legacies of Linnaeus and Buffon, as well as the groundbreaking adventures of their followers, tracing a journey of insight and discovery that spans three centuries.